Belmar Boardwalk Rebuild Moving Quickly, Says Mayor [VIDEO]

Belmar vacationers are likely to have a boardwalk to tread sooner than first anticipated.

According to Mayor Matt Doherty, Epic Construction managers now expect crews to complete the installation by April 30, nearly a month ahead of the original Memorial Day weekend target.

Superstorm Sandy eviscerated the familiar walk that serves as Belmar's central tourist attraction. Doherty says more than 1,400pilings have been driven covering slightly more than half of the boardwalk's 1.3-mile length.

More than $400,000 of the estimated $6,600,000 cost now stems from private donations to the borough's Buy-A-Board campaign. Doherty says that the response far exceeds anything they expected - and that Belmar's got fans nationwide.

"We have received contributions from all over the United States," he said in a released statement.  "Belmar, and the rest of the Jersey Shore, will be back, and it will happen because of the generous people who make up this great country.”

Borough officials have the entire plan sketched out and viewable on line, http://www.belmar.com. The borough web page also links to the donation campaign.